Holding On
by Walden.Pond313
Summary: Rolling in the deep sequel:  Kurt and Puck have grown up and grown apart.  A chance meeting 8 years later will change their entire lives...
1. Chapter 1

**Sequel time...I hope you enjoy :]**

**The title comes from the song "Holding On" by Alex Day. Take a listen, i'm sure you'll enjoy it.**

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><p><strong>Holding On: Not a single day goes by when I don't wish for you<strong>

As the inconspicuous black cab sped through New York City's fashion, Kurt Hummel found himself anxious to get home. His companion was also anxious, but for an entirely different, and quite unsettling, reason.

Sitting next to him on the gray leather seat was Rodger Milner. At 33, Rodger was still relatively young, only a handful of years older than Kurt himself. For a newcomer in a big Broadway production, 33 practically seemed ancient. Kurt had taken it upon himself to get to know the newbie. It was the least he could do, since they were working together in the revival of Cabaret on Broadway.

The evening had started off relatively comfortable. They went to some small five star restaurant buried in the depths of Manhattan. Kurt and Rodger discussed their upbringing, college, Broadway life, etc. Kurt found his cast mate to be sweet, down-to-earth guy. At least, he did before the hints started dropping.

To be fair, they were subtle _at first_. Little comments about Kurt's excellent choice of restaurants, compliments on Kurt's angelic voice. Harmless. Then came the: 'Your hair smells divine!' Accompanied by an uncomfortable sniff. Or: 'Those jeans fit you really well, they just hug every curve."

Kurt felt relief when he saw his building was only one intersection away. All he had to do was stick to the plan-pay his share of the cab fare and split.

Well…as the saying goes _"The best laid plans of Mice and Men…"_

"Thank you for walking me to my door, Rodger. " Kurt bit his tongue to resist adding that it was completely unnecessary. They stood at the entrance to Kurt's building for another minute. "Well, I guess you better go catch the cab before it pulls off."

Rodger ran a hand through blonde hair and gave Kurt a devastating grin. "Kurt, babe-"

"Please don't call me that."

Seemingly unfazed, Rodger continued. "Kurt, you don't have to keep pretending. We both knew how this night was going to end." Rodger lightly placed at hand on Kurt's arm. Kurt promptly brushed him off.

"You mean with us alone in our own apartments?" Kurt deadpanned. "I don't know what sort of illusions you had about tonight, but there really wasn't any other way this would end. Hell, I didn't even know you were out."

"Really? But, Nick said you were all over me. He said you take all your new cast mates on 'special dinners'"

Nick Addams. The bane of Kurt's existence. Or, at least, his Broadway career. "Listen to me very carefully, Rodger. You're new to this whole Broadway thing. You don't know yet who you should avoid. There are people out there who can make or break your career." Kurt warned. "Nick Addams is an old queen with a dying career. The best thing you could do for yourself is stay away from him. Thankfully for you, I won't mention this little incidence to anyone. Now, goodnight."

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><p>New plan: collapse on lovely teal couch and forget the whole evening.<p>

Kurt was experiencing the lowest success rate in his adult life. What was the point of making plans if they all failed?

Before his feet touched the hardwood floor, the horde descended. The horde being Kurt's two roommates. They also happened to be his coworkers and friends.

"How was your date?" Jessica asked, her long, candy apple red hair swinging behind her. He and Jess had met at the Wood Tobé-Coburn School, a fabulous college in NYC's fashion district. They had bonded over a love of Burberry and an unhealthy addiction to boots. When Kurt first opened his own trendy clothing store, _KURTAIN,_ Jess had begun her lustrous career as his business partner.

Kurt brushed her off in favor of unbuckling his gray ankle boots. "It wasn't a date." He sighed.

"All right," Tracy, his other roommate, amended. "How was your _non_-date?"

By this point, Kurt's charcoal blazer lay discarded on the floor. His gray silk shirt came untucked as he unbuttoned his skinny jeans. "Awful. Just disgustingly awful."

"I thought you said Rodger was a nice guy. " Jess helped ease Kurt onto the couch.

"It doesn't matter if he's a nice guy or not." Kurt explained as he burrowed into a mountain of cashmere blankets and throw pillows. "This was never going to be anything more than a simple, friendly dinner."

Jess carded her fingers through his hair. "Is this because of Noah? And that trip to Vegas?"

"Which trip?" Tracy asked. "And who is Noah?"

"Be thankful you missed Kurt Hummel: The College Years. Four years of agony with Kurt pining over his high school sweetheart."

"I was not that bad." He complained. "And it was the first trip I took. The one for my brother's engagement party. The other trips were business."

"What happened on that first trip to Vegas?" Tracy asked.

"And please tell me we are not expanding KURTAIN just to be near Noah Puckerman." Jess added.

"Well…"

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><p><strong>Next chapter will be a flashback and alot longer.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**_*Flashback*_**

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><p>Kurt was in a pissy mood and he'd barely stepped into the casino. The flight from New York City to Las Vegas had been hell. The car rental place had him waiting for 45 minutes and didn't even have the model he wanted. Now, due to traffic and shit parking, he was late to his brother's engagement party.<p>

His lunk of a brother was seated at the bar with his usual dopey look on his face. Kurt crossed the floor of _The Spinning Top_ and gracefully perched on the seat next to him.

"I guess I should be saying congratulations." He smiled.

"Kurt, buddy, you made it!" Finn leaned over to give his brother a slightly awkward hug. "When you didn't show at the restaurant, I was worried you missed your flight or something."

"Sorry, I got held up." Kurt took a minute to truly examine his brother. He looked good. The California air had been good for him. He'd lost a little weight and had highlights in his hair.

"Well, I'm glad you could make it."

"Of course. I wouldn't miss this for anything." Kurt placed an order for a martini. He let his eyes wander to the different games spread out around the room. Craps. Roulette. Black Jack. Slots. So many different ways to blow the two thousand dollars in cash he brought. "Who's all here?"

A look of deep concentration passed over Finn's face. "Well Mom and Burt went to bed after dinner. Rachel's dads are flying in tomorrow for brunch. Hmmm…There's Nick and Jim, my buddies from college. Rachel invited some of her cast mates from _Affections under the sun,_ that soap she's been working on for the past couple of years. Then there's you and Puck, of course."

Kurt's whole world spun off its axis. "Noah's here?"

Finn gave him a look that told him he was definitely missing something. "Well, yeah Puck's here. He offered to throw me and Rache the party."

"And it didn't occur to you that maybe you should have given me a head's up?"

"Because of high school? Dude, that was almost ten years ago."

"It was eight years ago." Kurt used all his will power to keep his hand from shaking as he paid for his drink. "Whatever. Tonight isn't about me. As long as I steer clear of a certain someone, everything will go splendidly."

"I hope you're not talking about me."

Crap. Kurt gulped back the rest of his drink. "Lord, help me."

"You said that out loud, babe." Puck had the gall, the absolute nerve, to say it with a smug grin on his face.

He also had the nerve to be even better looking than in high school. Gone was the Mohawk that plagued the halls of McKinley. And the 'I'm-Too-Cool-To-Care-About-What-I'm-Wearing' fashion sense. No, standing in front of Kurt was not Puck the boy, but Noah the man. Noah was wearing a light blue dress shirt under a gray waistcoat and matching gray slacks. His head was covered in a layer of fuzz (with some migrating to his face). He looked…good.

"Wow, Puckerman. Eight years and you're still a smartass." Kurt motioned for another drink.

Puck plopped on the bar stool nearest to Kurt. "This is not how I thought this would go."

"What exactly were you expecting, Noah? Me fawning at your feet asking you to ravish me in the nearest restroom?"

"No." Puck leaned in close. Close enough that Kurt could make out the individual green and gold flecks in his eyes. "I thought we could go somewhere private. Have some conversation. Get to know each other again."

Seeing a challenge, Kurt couldn't resist moving closer so that their lips were almost touching. In the future, he would blame his next words on various things: the time (11:30), alcohol (1 vodka martini), Noah Puckerman's fantastic body. "Well, I could think of a multitude of different ways in which we could get…reacquainted."

A look of shock passed over Puck's face, but it was quickly replaced by smug satisfaction. "Seriously?"

From somewhere behind him, Kurt could hear his step-brother mutter "I guess that's my cue to leave."

"If you have a room key, I suggest you pull it out now. I'll be in the elevator."

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><p>Kurt lay back in the comfortable hotel bed, boneless and sated. Each stretch brought out a purr of contentment. After high school, after Noah, any and all sex Kurt indulged in tended to be perfunctory. His partners were always too rough, too gentle, too loud, too quiet, too boring, too kinky, etc. It had become a sweaty, messy, necessary evil. But here, half way across the country with his own personal human furnace attached to him like an octopus, Kurt couldn't be happier.<p>

"That was really nice. Really fantastic." Kurt hummed.

"I've missed this." Noah admitted. "I've missed you. Like, a lot."

Kurt turned so that he was facing Noah. "I've missed you too." He suddenly found himself pinned to the bed. Noah loomed over him with a predatory gleam in his eye.

"Marry me."

The air stilled in the room. The traffic outside seemed to grow louder by the millisecond.

"You can't be serious."

"Deadly."

"Prove it."

Noah flopped of the king size bed. Kurt took the time to gaze around the room. It was the first time he noticed that they were in a suite. A high roller's suite. With a staircase and everything. How could Noah afford this? Speaking of…

Puck was currently digging through his discarded slacks. With a triumphant fist pump, he dug out his wallet and flopped back onto the bed. Wordlessly, he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Kurt.

It wasn't a piece of paper; it was a picture. A picture of two little boys with matching hazel eyes and sandy blond hair. The older boy had his arms wrapped protectively around the younger.

Kurt's breath hitched. "I take it these aren't your long lost little brothers." His eyes fluttered closed. "Just please tell me you aren't married."

"No," Puck shot the other man a wry smile. "Not anymore."

"What happened?"

Noah gently took the picture back. He gazed at the faces of his two boys. They'd been his world for almost six years. "About two years after I moved out here, I met this girl at my synagogue. She was Russian and here with a student visa. She went to the University. We hit it off. Neither of us was looking for anything serious, so we had a little fun. That went on for about 3 months. Next thing I know, she stops going to temple, stops taking my calls; it was like she was never there. Anyway, about 7 months later I got a call from Mountainview hospital saying an Olga no-last-name has fled the premises and named me the father of her abandoned child. I get there, see Maks, fall in love and bam- I'm a father again.

When Maks turned four, he started getting real upset about not having a mom. Me, being the idiot that I am, took that as a sign to get married. A work associate of mine saw herself with a similar problem and we came to an agreement. That should have been my first sign. Anyway, we went Aruba for our honeymoon. We get back and find out the Jillian, my then wife, was pregnant. I had to beg her not to get an abortion. She had Ethan and filed for divorce."

Kurt felt his heart break a little for his former lover and his little boys. "Noah, I don't know what to say."

"Don't worry about it." He responded, tucking the picture gently back into his wallet. "Maks will be starting first grade soon. The little guy is incredible. And Ethan is probably the happiest baby I've ever seen."

"Well, they're gorgeous. I'm glad the little guys weren't effected to badly by all that." Kurt rolled in order to drape his body across Noah. "Not that I'm not grateful for you trusting me with that, but what does it have to do with marriage?"

"I've put my kids through hell. I would die before I brought them into another dangerous situation."

"So, you're basically saying that you trust me? But how can you? I'm a completely different person than I was eight years ago. We don't know anything about each other." Kurt stated matter-of-factly.

"I know plenty about you, Kurt Elizabeth Hummel."

"Like what?"

Noah placed gentle kisses on Kurt's collarbone. "I know that in the past six years you've been in years, you've been in four different Broadway shows and have recently been cast as The Emcee in Cabaret. I know that right after college, you opened a boutique in the heart of New York City's fashion district called _Kurtain._ A year after that, you participated in your first international runway show in Paris. You've won a tony; you've written numerous fashion columns and have been featured in twice as many." He ran a soothing hand down Kurt's back. What Noah didn't ask were the things he really wanted to know: Are you happy? Do you have someone to share your life with? Have you been as lonely as me?

"How is that possible?" Kurt huffed. "You know everything about me and I know next to nothing about you."

"What do you want to know?"

"What do you do? I mean, it must be something lucrative if you could pay for this suite _and_ Finn and Rachel's party."

To Kurt's annoyance, Noah looked amused. "You mean Finn didn't tell you? I own the casino."

Kurt was surprised somewhere in his brain. Unfortunately, the first thing that popped out of his mouth was, "Why the hell did you name it _The Spinning Top_?"

"Calling it _The Dreidel _isn't exactly subtle." Noah smirked. "Any more questions?"

"Just two."

"Shoot."

"First, did you find what you were looking for when you came out here?"

"Yeah," Noah admitted. "I got to know my dad's side of the family. They put me through business school. My uncle left me this property and some cash in his will. I turned it into the five-star establishment it is today."

"Okay, last question." Kurt bit his lip before asking his next question. "Are you willing to wait for me to come out here? I'll be working on the show from June till September. In that time, I have to convince my business partner to expand the store to a Las Vegas location and actually buy some property."

"You'll do it? You'll marry me?"

"No." Puck's face fell. "But I am willing to take a giant leap of faith. Are you sure _you_ want to do this? I mean with the boys and everything?"

"I think it's past time my boys have another stable, responsible adult in their lives. I'm just glad it will be someone I love this time."

They lay in bed side by side, like they had done so many years ago. Fate was giving them a second chance.

Hopefully they wouldn't waste it so spectacularly the second time around.

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><p><strong>Partial cast list is here: http: walden-pond313. blogspot. com /2011/11/holding-on-cast-list. html**

**Graphis for fic here: http:/ walden-pond313. livejournal. com/2837. html**

**Don't forget to delete the spaces and feel free to leave a review :]**


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